I suppose that it’s a good thing that all the potential qualified candidates to work in the county maintenance department have found better paying jobs in the oil industry. But simply removing the high school diploma or GED requirement in order to hire workers reminds me of the high school principal (under whom I worked) who, informed that many students were failing classes because of not doing homework, recommended abolishing homework.

The proposal suggests that maintenance workers do not need reading and math skills. However, if anyone has read the instructions on containers of cleaning products lately, he/she knows that both reading and math abilities are needed to follow them accurately and safely.

If there are simply no candidates for the maintenance jobs who meet the educational requirements, perhaps those without a GED or diploma could take a basic reading and math test to see if they could actually handle the job, then be hired on a temporary basis, on the condition that they complete their GED within a limited period of time.

I ask the County Court to maintain basic educational requirements for all county employees. The twenty-first century is making all jobs more, not less, complicated!